Ripple says asset managers and other commercial projects are preparing to use a new XRP Ledger feature that can settle multiple related transactions as a single operation. Batch V1.1 is nearing activation after undergoing a broad security review following problems with an earlier version.
The upgrade allows up to eight transactions to be grouped into one batch. Its all-or-nothing design means the transactions either execute together or are canceled as a group, reducing the risk that one side of a transaction settles while the other does not.
Ayo Akinyele, RippleX’s head of engineering, told CoinDesk that Ripple will provide additional details once the feature goes live, including information about work involving major asset managers.
According to Akinyele, Batch is particularly suited to delivery-versus-payment transactions because it allows the asset and payment components to be executed atomically.
Delivery-versus-payment connects an asset transfer with its corresponding payment. The XRP Ledger can complete both transactions together, rather than requiring one party to transfer its side first and wait for the other party to complete theirs.
The functionality may also be useful for exchanges, wallets and marketplaces that want to combine customer payments with platform fees. Both transfers could be included in a single operation instead of being processed separately.
Akinyele said several projects are already being developed with Batch in mind. Activation of the feature could allow those projects to move closer to production, while RippleX expects to disclose specific partners and launch dates as those plans become more definite.
Batch V1.1 currently has support from 30 of the XRP Ledger’s 35 tracked validators. That is above the 28-validator threshold needed to start the activation countdown.
Batch V1.1 Follows Security Overhaul
The current countdown began Sept. 15 at 14:06:41 UTC. If validator support stays at or above 80% throughout the required 14-day period, the amendment is expected to activate shortly after 14:06:41 UTC on Sept. 29.
The activation remains conditional because validators can change their votes during the countdown.
The latest version follows the withdrawal of Batch V1.0 after researchers uncovered a critical security flaw in its signature-validation process in February.
Under certain conditions, the vulnerability could cause the system to stop checking signatures before completing validation. This could have allowed an attacker to add transactions from another account without authorization.
However, the vulnerable version had not been activated and remained under consideration by validators when the issue was discovered. As a result, it never governed the live XRP Ledger and no funds were put at risk.
RippleX subsequently carried out a broader redesign rather than simply fixing the specific vulnerability, Akinyele said. The team reviewed the implementation in greater depth, redesigned parts of its signing and authorization architecture and expanded the overall security assessment.
The updated implementation was released in xrpld version 3.3.0 on Aug. 6. Akinyele said the code included in that release is the same version currently being considered by validators for activation.
The security review involved internal adversarial testing, AI-assisted analysis, a Sherlock attack contest and assessments from security firms Halborn and Common Prefix.
RippleX said the process was designed to establish a higher security standard for the feature. After identifying the V1.0 vulnerability before activation, developers halted the rollout, redesigned and strengthened the system, expanded testing and security reviews, and then resubmitted the revised version to validators.
The Batch V1.1 proposal will remain in its activation countdown through Sept. 29. If support drops below the 80% threshold before then, the countdown will stop. Validators would then need to restore the required support before a new 14-day countdown could begin.
